Call On NASW To Stop Platforming Hate
A Call to Action from Toward Liberation
Toward Liberation was founded on the belief in the power of the written word. For centuries, abolitionists have used the written word to share our cause, build solidarity, grow our movement, and document our evolution over time. For the past several months, we have focused our attention on how the written word helps us understand the struggle for liberation among the Palestinian people and how this struggle must be considered an essential part of our work as abolitionists, even if our work focuses primarily on other aspects of abolitionist organizing.
Reading Freedom Is a Constant Struggle this month reminds us of the interconnectedness of our work and the reality that there can be no single-issue abolitionist. Our work toward liberation has and must always be global as we work to dismantle not only prisons and policing in the United States but also systems of apartheid and colonization across the globe. In recent decades, we have seen how those working toward freedom and liberation in diverse spaces can come together and unite for what must be a common abolitionist cause. As Angela Davis says in Freedom Is a Constant Struggle:
“Just as the struggle to end South African apartheid was embraced by people all over the world and was incorporated into many social justice agendas, solidarity with Palestine must likewise be taken up by organizations and movements involved in progressive causes all over the world. The tendency has been to consider Palestine a separate—and unfortunately too often marginal—issue. This is precisely the moment to encourage everyone who believes in equality and justice to join the call for a free Palestine.
Written by Angela Davis in 2014, these words have never been more relevant than today. Although we may not have seen global movements for social justice come together to organize for a free Palestine then, we are witnessing these movements come together now. Today, across the world, we are seeing the vision Angela Davis described in 2014 become a reality, as those who believe in equality and justice from across the globe are now joining together to call for a free Palestine.
Yet just as the written word has been used across time to advance our abolitionist dreams, the written word has also been employed in attempts to halt these dreams from being realized. In recent months, we have seen lies and propaganda widely disseminated by corporate-backed media and elected officials in attempts to shut down the forward movement toward Palestinian liberation.
And now we have seen the backlash to a free Palestine enter shocking, but perhaps to be expected, new territory as this backlash has now been platformed by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) through their flagship journal, Social Work.
On January 9, 2024, NASW published a commentary titled “The Danger of Ideology: Social Work, Israel, and Anti-Semitism.” In addition to being filled with widely debunked falsehoods and propaganda about beheaded babies, this commentary makes sweeping statements about hatred of Jews and anti-Semitism spreading “across the social work academy.” This is not only untrue, but it also depicts any critique of the Israeli government as inherently anti-Semitic.
The authors go on to equate anyone who does not share their views as someone who believes "the torture of children and babies is somehow excusable if they are Jewish children and babies" and "the murder of Jews by terrorists has been imagined as legitimate if not laudatory in the pursuit of 'social justice.'" To blatantly characterize the entire profession of social work as engaging in hatred toward Jews is not only harmful but also purposely incites condemnation of anyone critical of the Israeli government.
But beyond the vast generalizations and misrepresentations that shouldn't be allowed in an academic publication, this article is blatantly causing harm to anyone who has lost family members and loved ones who are among the now 24,000 Palestinians that Israeli forces have murdered. This article further calls for condemnation of anyone who stands up for their social work values by calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide being inflicted on Palestinians.
Since this commentary was published, social workers from around the globe have called on NASW to retract this dangerous piece of propaganda, and we ask you to join us. At SocialWorkforPalestine.com, you can find the email addresses for Social Work's Editor in Chief, the President and CEO of NASW, and the full Social Work Editorial Board, along with a sample letter you can use or adapt.
To be clear, we are not making this call for retraction because of a difference of opinion or ideology. We fully support academic discourse on differing perspectives. Our objection to this commentary is that it goes beyond expressing an opinion - it contains blatant falsehoods. It equates anyone who does not "stand with Israel" as one who condones murder, torture, and terror. When a piece such as this includes multiple statements that are demonstrably false, it no longer falls under the category of "opinion" or "commentary" - it is simply a set of lies that NASW is choosing to perpetuate.
We hope you will join us in this call for retraction. We are already seeing some evidence our calls are leading to intense discussions within NASW, and we need to continue to apply pressure in all forms. In addition to letter-writing, we encourage you to use your platforms, including social media, to draw attention to this issue and to ask others to join us. Our power comes from our collective action, and now is the time to harness our power to bring about change.
If you receive any responses from the Editor or Editorial Board, we would love to hear about them. We'll also keep you updated on our advocacy and look forward to meeting together at the end of this month
.
In Solidarity,
Alan & connease